The preferred embodiment concerns a method, a device system and a computer program for processing a resource-based document data stream. A typical document data format of this type is the AFP™ format (Advanced Function Presentation). It is used in particular in digital print production environments, i.e. in data processing and printing systems that process document data with high speed of up to a few thousand pages per minute, wherein the documents in particular respectively comprise document-specific data.
The preferred embodiment in particular concerns the generation and processing of resource-based document data streams that contain color-related data for the documents.
Details of the document data stream AFP™ are described in the publication Nr. F-544-3884-01, published by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) with the title “AFP Programming Guide and Line Data Reference”. The AFP document data stream was developed further into the MO:DCA™ document data stream which is described in, for example, the IBM publication SC31-6802-05 (April 2001) with the title “Mixed Object Document Content Architecture Reference”. Details of this data stream are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,488. Specific field definitions of the data stream that contain control data (what are known as “structures fields”) are also explained there.
In the course of print production jobs, AFP/MO:DCA data streams are frequently converted into Intelligent Printer Data Stream™ (IPDS™) data streams. Such a process is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,997. Details regarding IPDS data streams are described in the IBM document Nr. S544-3417-06, “Intelligent Printer Data Stream Reference”, 7th Edition (November 2002), for example.
In the previously known AFP/IPDS architecture, the number of a feed tray (“Media Source ID” in the structured field “MMT”) is indicated for selection of various recording media; see, for example, pages 231-242 in the aforementioned publication SC31-6802-05. A physical feed tray of a printing device is selected by a print application with this method, but the type of the medium to be printed (such as, for example, specific preprinted forms, transparent films, color paper etc.) that should be used for the application is not specified. Such established applications can only be used for a specific, indicated printing system and are dependent on setup settings of the printing device. The problem also thereby exists that such established applications do not produce the expected results when they are sent to a different printing system.
What are known as Map Media Type (MMT) structured fields are also provided in the AFP data stream (see publication Nr, SC31-6802-05 on pages 244-246). With them it is possible to specify the print media to be used in print applications, respectively identified by name or type designation. A control software to control a printing device then checks which feed tray in a printing device contains the desired recording medium and selects the first corresponding tray for printing.
Various additional print data streams and printing systems that are suitable for processing of the most varied print data streams (including AFP and IPDS) are described in the publication “Das Druckerbuch”, Dr. Gerd Goldmann (Editor), Océ Printing Systems GmbH, 8th Edition (May 2004), ISBN 3-00-001019-x. The server system Océ PRISMAproduction is described in Chapter 14. This flexible print data server system is suitable, for example, to: receive print data—the print data being in a specific print data language such as AFP (Advanced Function Presentation), MO:DCA, PCL (Printer Command Language), PostScript, SPDS (Siemens Print Data Stream), in the Portable Document Format (PDF) developed by Adobe Systems Inc. or in the Line Coded Document Data Stream (LCDS) developed by the Xerox Corporation—from data sources such as a source computer; to convert the print data into a specific output format (for example into the Intelligent Printer Data format (IPDS)); and to transfer the data to a print production system in this uniform output format. Various technologies for color printing are described in Chapter 10, in particular the Océ Direct Imaging technology in Chapter 11 which enables a color printing based on 7 primary colors.
In the specification and further development of print data streams, the problem sometimes exists that new commands must be inserted into the data stream in order to take into account the further technical developments of computers, printing devices and/or post-processing devices. The determination of such extensions is for the most part a relatively complicated process in which various industry partners must cooperate in order to coordinate the changes or improvements among one another.
How three new data stream commands (namely WOCC, WOC and END) are added to the Intelligent Printer Data Stream™ (IPDS™) is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,498.
A further possibility to store additional control data in an AFP data stream is to store data in what are known as object containers (see pages 93-95 in the publication Nr. SC31-6802-05, for example).
Additional techniques to insert new control information into AFP or IPDS data streams are described in WO 03/069548 (originating from the applicant).
A method to generate a document data stream that contains structured fields is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,624 B1.
How document objects such as text, images, graphics, barcodes and fonts are handled in the AFP and IPDS data streams is described in the IBM publication SC31-6805-06 with the title “Image Object Architecture Reference”, 6th Edition (August 2002). What is known as an Object Content Architecture (OCA) is defined for this in which specific data structures and control or object-identifying parameters are established for the respective objects, for example what is known as the Image Object Content Architecture (IOCA) for images, a corresponding GOCA for graphics, PTOCA for presentation texts etc. The IOCA is described in detail in the aforementioned document. Additional BM documents that are helpful in understanding the data streams are cited on pages v through vii of the document.
IPDS and AFP data streams normally contain and/or reference what are known as resources that contain data that are required to output the documents. The data of a resource can thereby be used repeatedly via simple referencing for one or more print jobs that in turn contain multiple documents or document parts, without having to be transferred repeatedly. The quantity of data to be transferred from one processing unit (for example a host computer generating the documents) to a subsequent processing unit (for example a print server or a printing device) is thereby reduced, in particular when data of a plurality of documents are to be transferred that possess or require the same data in part. Examples of such resources are character sets (fonts) or forms to be superimposed on documents (overlays). The resources can thereby be contained in the print data stream itself or be transferred separately from this between the involved systems and respectively only be referenced within various documents. It can thereby in particular be provided that the resources are already stored in the device (for example print server or printing device) conducting additional processing, such that they do not need to be retransferred with each print job but rather must merely be referenced.
Resources that originate at various points or from various sources in the AFP data stream are merged with the corresponding variable data given the presentation of AFP document data. The resource data can thereby be integrated into the document data stream as internal resources or can be called from libraries as external resources via a resource name. Furthermore, the data are checked for consistency in a parsing process.
Details such as how what is known as a Line Data or MO:DCA document data stream is converted into an IPDS data stream are described in the document “Print Services Facility for OS/390 & z/OS, Introduction”, Vers. 3, Release 3.0, Nr. G544-5625-03 by IBM from March 2002. The software program Print Service Facility (PSF) thereby combines variable document data with resource data in order to administer and control output data that are sent to a printer as an output device. Software products under the trade names Océ SPS and Océ CIS that possess corresponding functions are developed and marketed by the assignee, Océ.
A method for secure administration and association of resources in the processing of resource-based print jobs is known from US 2005/0024668 A1. A method for processing of resource data in a document data stream is known from WO A1-2004/0008379.
In WO-A-WO 2004/013748 it is described how data related to reproduction media can be generated and processed in AFP/MO:DCA and IPDS data streams, and how media changes can be generated in these data streams for various documents or document pages, wherein in particular a hierarchical subdivision is provided in the data stream.
In principle the problem that the colors reproduced in an output device do not coincide with the original colors without further techniques occurs in the processing of color-related object data such as images, graphics and texts, for example. To process color data, what is known as color management technology was therefore developed that has as its goal the enabling of a reproduction of colors that is optimally true to the original. For example, color profiles of input and output devices that specify their properties in the processing of color data are defined for this. By taking the color profiles into account, color data can be converted in a processing chain so that the color object reproduced at the end of the chain coincides relatively precisely with the original object. Color data processing on the basis of color profiles is, however, relatively complicated in many cases.
What are known as highlight color (HLC) colors, methods and devices have also been developed for color information, in particular in the field of document data processing. Such colors comprise at least one color tone that normally lies apart from the color space of typical colorants. This color tone can, for example, be an application-specific color tone (for example for a color company logo, a decorative color or what is known as a “spot color”) and/or be adapted such that it allows access to color tones that cannot be achieved with standard print colors such as, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K). The assignee Oce markets such highlight color toners for electrographic printers, for example, under the trade name Océ Custom Tone®. It is thereby in particular possible to provide printing materials (toner) specific to the customer in special colors that are unique in their specification and are used only by this customer because they exhibit a color individually determined by the customer, for example, which color identifies that customer. Such color printing materials are used for printing of company logos in a specific “company color”, for example.
A standard color and an HLC color can also be printed at different brightness levels or color saturation levels in highlight color printing. The standard color is normally black and is printed in different grey levels.
A method with which what are known as color management resources (CMR) are used to describe color properties of objects of a document is known from US 2005/0248787 A1, which color management resources are used in the processing of document data in order to match color-related specifications in the output.
Additional concepts for processing of resource-based print data streams are contained in the patent application filed on the same day by the applicant with the title “Verfahren, Computerprogrammprodukt und Vorrichtung zur Erzeugung und Verarbeitung von Dokumentendaten mit indizierten Farbmanagementressourcen”.
Printing processes are increasingly more comprehensive since ever more devices are integrated into a printing process, whereby the functional diversity increases. Printing processes are additionally increasingly executed distributed over a region via internet and intranet or are associated with a pool of printers that can be regionally distributed. Moreover, devices of different manufacturers must increasingly cooperate in a process. In order to be able to meet these rising demands, what are known as job ticket data are provided that are exchanged (in particular in a file separate from the rest of the document data stream) between two or more software and/or hardware systems as job chaperone data regarding a document data stream. A uniform specification for exchange of data formats in a printing process that is designated as a job definition format (JDF) was agreed upon in an industry consortium. There is a corresponding job messaging format (or JMF) for this that is correspondingly specified. The specification of JDF can be downloaded from the Internet site www.cip4.org; at the point in time of the present patent application the current specification is JDF Specification Release 1.3.
There are additional standardization bodies in the field of document management and in particular printing, for example the Printer Working Group (PWG), which in particular has developed the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) (see http://www.pwg.org/ipp) or the consortium for the Universal Printer, Pre- and Postprocessing (UP3I) Interface, which concerns the exchange of control data between printing devices and pre- and postprocessing devices belonging to these printing devices (see http://up3i.org/). In particular the document “Standard for Media Standardized Names” (26 Feb. 2002) was formed with regard to IPP. This and additional documents are in particular available from the respective Internet presences of the standardized bodies.
The aforementioned publications or documents are herewith incorporated by reference into the present specification, and the methods, systems and techniques described there can be applied in connection with the present preferred embodiment.